Where is This?

I thought it fitting this memorial day to post pictures of a fort we went to recently. Bonus points if you can name it.

6/1 around lunchtime--Here's a clue: it's in the midwest.
6/1 around dinnertime: another clue--it's in OHIO.
6/1 around bedtime: no more clues, it's Fort Meigs. The day we went it was closed, but the doors were wide open so we went in anyway and had the whole place to ourselves. Fantastic. I love old places and old forts and good photo ops. Thanks for playing along! :)

Shop Update

I'll be sneaking into my shop this weekend to make some updates when I get the chance.
Have a wonderful weekend!

potholder pass

The deadline for the potholder pass is coming up pretty quickly. These are for my special someone. I hope she likes them. I would like them if someone made them for me. But since I made them for someone else, I'm not liking them so much. It irks me that they are not the same size. I trimmed one down and told myself I'd remember to trim the other one down too, but since it was, like, 11:30 at night, and I was tired, did I remember? NO. Grrr. I hope she doesn't think any less of me. Sigh. I feel like this every time I do a swap, which is perhaps why I do so few of them.



On a completely unrelated note, stare at this picture and etch the image of this bag into your mind for the next time you are at the Asian food store. This is simply the best candy ever. Hands down. My sis introduced me to it. I blame her for my big bottom.

The Lipstick Red Ensemble

I listed a few items in my shop last night. A bag and pencil pouch and a zip pouch. I've been making an effort to include handstitching in everything--because I love to do it, and also because I love the old-timey look of it.

I received a lovely comment the other day from Angie on one of the brown zip pouches saying it looked like something her grandfather would have carried. That was the biggest compliment...exactly the look I'm going for. Maybe this lipstick red ensemble looks like it could have been carried around by your grandma? :)

An Apron

A long overdue gift for a friend's daughter.

Quilting w/the Ladies

A friend is teaching me how to quilt by hand, and by that I mean piecing. Wow. I'm really too impatient for this. I'd much rather rush back to my sewing machine and do things the way I'm used to, but I'm getting a lesson in paper piecing--a good thing. And I'm enjoying the weekly company of some friendly women. The hostess served us an amazing lunch of homemade kimchi soup. Oh my word, soooo soooooooo yummy.

For My Friends

It's funny how sometimes I sit down to blog and I feel chatty. Lately, I just haven't felt that way. So while I'm feeling quiet, I'll just post pictures. These are gifts I made for friends--they're also prototypes for pouches I hope to put in the shop someday.

Little Cabin in the Woods Part 3

There's this bridge.


It's fantastic.


The kids call it the wibbly-wobbly bridge, and with good reason.


I'm scared of it.


Especially when this happens.


But everyone managed to cross (multiple times) and they lived to tell about it.

Little Cabin in the Woods Part 2

I trailed behind everyone, taking far too much time to make my way down. Every time I turned around there was something else begging me to take its picture.

Little Cabin in the Woods Part 1

This was designed and built by my husband's grandfather in the 1930s during the depression in Pennsylvania, not too far from Falling Water. He was an architect who was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. My husband's grandmother had an eye for collecting antiques and glass bottles. We're fortunate that this is still in the family, and whenever we have the chance to go there we feel like the luckiest people around. This is perhaps one of the most charming places I've ever been.

Happy Circles: Leather Handle Attachment

More circle stuff here and here.

Happy Circles: Peg Bag

More circle stuff here and here.